Welcome to the film room everyone!
I wish it would be on more exciting terms, but all I have to say is yikes! A debut can’t get much worse than what Preston Stone put together in his first game as a Wildcat. Tulane dominated on both sides of the ball, only allowing three points while putting up 23 of its own. Northwestern was one of two Big Ten teams to lose in Week One, but the more eye-popping fact is that Zach Lujan’s offense has failed to score an offensive touchdown in now five of his 13 games
as the OC. Enough chatter, let’s dive into right on in.
The Numbers
Stone finished his Northwestern debut 19-of-36 with 161 passing yards, four interceptions and two fumbles (one fumble lost). Stone’s struggles line up with his 39.2 PFF offensive grade, consisting of a 38.5 PFF passing grade and a 60.0 PFF run blocking grade to add the extra 0.7 points he got. His offensive grade was the third-worst for all FBS quarterbacks in Week One, along with putting him in the bottom 10 when you include FCS quarterbacks as well. Compared to his standout season at SMU in 2023, these grades and his performance are nowhere close to what he was doing with the Mustangs.
Stone averaged 4.4 yards per attempt, 4.9 yards less than his average in 2023. He also had zero PFF big time throws (a pass with excellent ball location and timing, generally thrown further down the field and/or into a tighter window). His average time to throw was 2.49 seconds: he didn’t hold the ball too long, but the pressure was still a big issue. Stone only faced pressure on 35% of dropbacks on Saturday, but he was 2-for-10 on those 14 dropbacks. All four of his interceptions came when he was under pressure, and the other four dropbacks were the four times he was sacked. Simply put, the pass blocking needs to improve to keep Stone clean.
Keeping tradition with how David Gold did it last year, here is a chart of Stone’s throws down in Bayou country:
It isn’t pretty, but his accuracy within 10 yards both inside the numbers and on the outside left is encouraging. Three of Stone’s four interceptions coming on deeper passes also checks out, but for the ‘Cats offense to succeed more, the deep shots need to at least not be turnovers. Three dropped passes from his receivers doesn’t help either, but it should only be up from here. There’s no better time to look at the tape than now.
The Bad
Stone hadn’t started a football game in almost a calendar year, and it showed in some ways. While Stone wasn’t actually as bad as the stats show, there was a glaring issue that needs to be addressed for this offense.
Pass Protection
The first play of the game started the season off with a bang. At least if you’re Tulane.
Obviously, we can’t hear what Stone is saying before he snaps the ball. It is concerning though that after the opening whistle was blown, all we see is him sending tight end Hunter Welcing in motion away from the weak side to give the defense the advantage. Caleb Tiernan getting beat off the edge to open the season wasn’t ever going to make my bingo board too, so Stone may have been just as surprised to get drilled from his blindside when No. 72 is supposed to be protecting that left side. He had Griffin Wilde on a quick curl route, but there wasn’t enough time after the play-action fake to get the ball out. Luckily, Tiernan did fall onto the ball to prevent the turnover, but not a good look all around. Even when Stone was seemingly about to throw the ball, another two Tulane defenders were starting to close in on him with the line veering left to try and stop the advantage the defense had.
Two plays later and Stone throws a duck. Ricky Ahumaraeze wasn’t even looking at the ball, and it was placed in an area with four green jerseys to only two white ones. Again though, it goes back to the pass blocking. Tulane only rushed four on this play, and while it may have been Stone’s decision to have Evan Beerntsen double team Harvey Dyson, Jackson Carsello and Ezomo Oratokhai were doubling Gerrod Henderson as soon as the play began. The Green Wave did use a stunt to perfection as Jordan Norman went right down Broadway to get into Stone’s face and force him to make an errant throw.
Stone’s second pick of the day came when Tulane sent five. Cam Porter stayed in the backfield to block for his quarterback and did a tremendous job. The Green Wave defensive line started mainly in three-technique, before overpowering the right side of the offensive line with a slant rush. Northwestern only sent three receivers on routes this play with tight end Blake Van Buren also in to block. However, he was left on an island against Norman and was put on the ground near to Stone in the pocket. Beerntsen’s pull block didn’t work out either as Mo Westmoreland completely overpowered him to add even more pressure in Stone’s face.
This interception is deservedly credited to Stone. Not only does he throw off his back foot, but he heaves the ball up down the sideline, towards a defender, with pressure screaming in his face. I’m not saying Northwestern goes onto win this game, but another down means another shot to get points. Instead, there was at least a seven-point swing as Jake Retzlaff housed it two plays later on a QB draw. Obviously, you can’t predict that, but putting the ball in harm’s way when Tulane sends a seven-man blitz (with two rushers in your face) isn’t going to help your team. Throw the ball away (even if it means you take the intentional grounding penalty) to give the offense another shot. Great defensive scheming here from the Green Wave, but that doesn’t have to be rewarded every time.
This interception means the least to me compared to the other three. The ‘Cats were down 23-3 in the fourth quarter and needed anything to try and make a miracle happen. There was some momentum on this drive up to this play, and I don’t fault Stone for taking a deep shot to Wilde. The pocket collapsed quickly on him as Tulane sent six here. There is an alternative scenario where Wilde has better positioning and this ball is either incomplete or caught, but Javion White won that rep. Stone shouldn’t be throwing the ball almost 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage though. Again, that goes back to the pass blocking not providing Stone enough time and keeping pressure out of his face.
Oratokhai loses a one-on-one battle here which leads to Stone fumbling the football. This time, Tulane scooped it up (even though the game was essentially over at this point). The Green Wave sent four, and the ‘Cats double-teamed the wrong guy (it seems). I don’t fault anyone for doubling Norman though as he was a major disruptor all day, and Beerntsen was struggling throughout.
Final Thoughts
Northwestern drove into Tulane territory five times in this game. The result was only three points. While the two failed fourth down conversions are something to be discussed, NU was already in a big enough hole that there was no other option but going for it. A lot of Stone’s mistakes can be attributed back to the pass blocking not being good enough. It’s also hard to bounce back after fumbling on the first play of the season and throwing an interception on the third after not starting for a year. This Tulane defense is elite, and the team is very well coached as a whole thanks to John Sumrall. The Green Wave have a real shot of making the College Football Playoffs this season, so the ‘Cats losing this one isn’t crazy surprising. There is still more to be desired from the NU offense as nothing seemed to be clicking, and the game felt over after the first drive. It’s only one game and things will almost definitely get better, but it’s not a great feeling when all the hype falls flat on its face right away.
